Soft drinks aim for zero waste

Bruce Craig
| Jan 24, 2018

Coca Cola wants to achieve a world without waste by recycling all of its packaging

The world’s largest beverage company has announced it will fundamentally reshape its approach to packaging, with a global goal to help collect and recycle the equivalent of 100 per cent of its packaging by 2030.

Coca Cola says this goal forms the centrepiece of its new packaging vision for a world without waste, which it intends to back with a multi-year investment that includes ongoing work to make packaging 100 per cent recyclable. This begins with the understanding that food and beverage containers form an important part of people’s modern lives but that there is much more to be done to reduce packaging waste globally.

James Quincey, president and chief executive of the Coca-Cola Company, says, “The world has a packaging problem – and, like all companies, we have a responsibility to help solve it. Through our World Without Waste vision, we are investing in our planet and our packaging to help make this problem a thing of the past.”

The Company and its bottling partners will pursue several key goals. By 2030, for every bottle or can the Coca-Cola system sells globally, it aims to help take one back so it has more than one life. The Company will invest its marketing dollars and skills behind this 100 per cent collection goal to help people understand what, how and where to recycle. It will support collection of packaging across the industry, including bottles and cans from other companies. The Coca-Cola system will work with local communities, industry partners, our customers, and consumers to help address issues like packaging litter and marine debris.

To achieve its collection goal, Coca-Cola continues to work toward making all of its packaging 100 per cent recyclable globally. The company says it is building better bottles, whether through more recycled content, by developing plant-based resins, or by reducing the amount of plastic in each container. By 2030, the Coca-Cola system also aims to make bottles with an average of 50 per cent recycled content. The goal is to set a new global standard for beverage packaging. Currently, the majority of the company’s packaging is recyclable.

World Without Waste is the next step in the company’s ongoing sustainability efforts, building off success in replenishing an estimated 100 per cent of the water it uses in its final beverages. The company achieved and exceeded its water replenishment goal in 2015, five years ahead of expectations. These efforts form part of its larger strategy to grow with conscience, by becoming a total beverage company that grows the right way.

Quincey says, “Bottles and cans shouldn’t harm our planet, and a litter-free world is possible. Companies like ours must be leaders. Consumers around the world care about our planet, and they want and expect companies to take action. That’s exactly what we’re going to do, and we invite others to join us on this critical journey.”

Coca-Cola says it will work to achieve these goals with the help of several global partners: the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative; The Ocean Conservancy/Trash Free Seas Alliance; and World Wildlife Fund (The Cascading Materials Vision and Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance). Coca-Cola will also launch efforts with new partners at the regional and local level and plans to work with its key customers to help motivate consumers to recycle more packaging.